We save businesses who do not have their own HR and legal resources, money through helping them to put the right compliance in place, as well as saving them time which they can use to grow and develop their business. We have access to government at National and Local level and can ensure members issues and opportunities are discussed and acted upon!

Can you give me some examples?

• FBP supporters average spend on external support on employment disputes is £630, non-members pay £3,952.
• FBP supporters spend 27% less time on health and safety issues than non-members.
• FBP supporters spend considerably less than the average company spend of £6,570 that non-members pay in dealing with tax investigations.

The Forum and the Pandemic

The Pandemic has been a difficult time for small businesses and a nightmare in terms of getting the correct information and navigating through all the rule changes and issues associated with it.

But it also highlights what a wise investment membership is for any small business, we have been fielding over 30 member calls every working day meaning that during this critical time we have helped with over 10,000 member, queries, questions, and issues.

We have answered questions about: -

• Full and part time staff furloughing
• Working from home
• Tax issues
• Getting grants from local authorities
• Dealing with Landlords
• Business Rates
• Sourcing CBILS Loans and the associated paperwork
• Bounce back Loan’s.
• Health and safety issues and Covid-19 regulations
• PPE equipment
• Feeding back concerns and issues to local and national government
• Clarification of complex or contradictory Covid-19 guidance
• Returning to work safely
• Late Payment and Debt collection

So, during the pandemic the Forum has been busier than ever helping members to survive and, in some cases, thrive during the pandemic. Many have embraced new technology, set up or revamped their websites. We have helped them improve their social media marketing through webinars and podcasts to attract people to their sites. We have helped members set up online trading and local delivery services for new and existing customers and we have helped many to use digital technology to engage with suppliers and customers.

We have also helped many members with cash flow issues, helping them to reduce costs, access grants they did not know existed or were having difficulty in receiving, obtain cost effective loans and chase up outstanding payments and debts. As a result, we think our members have seen the benefit of membership and we want to encourage more small businesses to join us not for profit, member focussed organisation.

The Benefits of Joining the Forum of Private Business

1. Reputation You are joining the Forum, a well-established (over 40 years old) membership organisation that has a proud tradition of giving clear, practical proactive and preventative advice to its members, keeping them out of trouble and saving them time and money.
2. Information Gathering, we get to know our members, his is important as it allows the Forum to deliver help and advice, tailored to your business. If we know who you are and what you do, we can deliver the best possible services and support.
3. A Toolkit We have a huge resource bank of tools, templates and information, paper based and digital, including video’s, podcasts and our general e mail helpline. This means that you don’t spend unnecessary time and money when you and your business come across problems or perhaps just have some business questions that you are not sure about.
4. Proactive Support the Forum know you and your business, so, we can tell you what the issue is, what it means to you and your business and what you have to do about it, preventing you getting into trouble in the first place.
5. Additional Products and services We have several exclusive products and services that our members can get access to which will save them money, from tailored insurance to access to finance, from health care to legal advice.
6. Reporting We help our members to put the right reporting systems in place so that whatever the issue or incident at work, you have recorded it in the simplest most effective manner.

To find out more call us on 01565 626001 or e mail us at [email protected]

And to find out more about our membership packages see: https://www.fsb.org.uk/join-us.html